Italian expedition for prehistoric research (Sudan): excavations at Geili
Isabella Caneva El geili, the history of a Middle Nile environment 7000 BC-1500.AD, ed. Isabella Caneva, Cambridge monographs in African archaeology, BAR 424, 1988
When Professor SM Puglisi decided to extend his research from the northern to the central Nile Valley, people had their doubts about the potential results and significance of the operation: Arkell's work at Kahrtoum and Shaheinab during the late 1940's had remained completely isolated for the following two decades, unrelated to any comprehensive cultural sequence or theoretical model. Thus, in 1970, Puglisi's "Geili project" was the first systematic prehistoric research undertaken in the region since that time. The following years proved that Puglisi's expectations were well founded; both Sudanese and foreign expeditions provided such an enormous amount of new information that the region was revealed as a key link between the northern Nile Valley, the Saharan and Equatorial regions and the Ethiopian plateau. It also became clear that the area could provide new data on cultural processes such as sedentarization and the beginning of food production.
Despite this new research, however, the situation remained a standstill for a long time as regards data interpretation. A simple collection of data, in an endless reproduction of Arkell's works, was certainly not the aim of the new research, but it was apparently difficult for any body to take another step forward, and almost a decade passed before an attempted panorama of the new Neolithic data was presented (Haaland 1981). Still, considering the history of Africa as it is summarized in the latest comprehensive publications (cf. Phillipson 1985), it is surprising to see that the data on ancient Middle Nile basin are scanty and poorly organized. On the one hand, there is a real fragmentation of the data, ranging from marked regionalism (the "Khartoum province", the "Shaheinab province", the "Gash delta", the "Dongola reach", etc.) to the extreme detail of classifications, often sinking into the "cul de sac" of site=culture equivalence (cf. Early Khartoum, Shaheinab, Omdurman bridge, Kadada, the Arkinian, etc.). On the other hand, the scarcity of data seems to encourage free comparisons over enormous space and time (especially with the Sahara, cf. Arkell 1953, Hays and Hassan 1974, Sutton 1977, etc.)
Something similar also applies to the historical periods, eg Meroitic and Christian, where the meticulous analysis of typological details in ceramics, architecture, language, religion, etc., finds no comparable accuracy in interpreting the internal structure of the communities considered, particularly on a regional scale. While specialized works are produced on the relations of Meroe with the classical world, almost nothing is known of its relations with the contiguous Khartoum province; while advanced studies are undertaken on the architectural and ritual peculiarities of the churches of Soba, the socio-political role of the Christian community in central Sudan is still extremely vague. What has still not been developed is an interpretation of the data aimed at a comprehensive interregional reconstruction of history, and this is probably to be ascribed partly to a traditionally greater interest in the "masterpieces", partly to the unavoidable discontinuity of documentation over such a large area, but also to the existence of highly differentiated local environments, and consequently human adaptations, making it a very difficult task to determine interregional correlations. Only in the last few years (except for the resumption of the excavations at Kerma by Bonnet), that a new perspective of research has developed and extremely promising results are expected from wider scale investigations. Regional areas and historical reconstruction are now the basic concern, rather than single sites and typology (cf. recent works by Elamin, Haaland, Lenoble, Kuper, Marks, Mohammed Ali, Reinold).
The Geili site was not a good starting point: the problem of the lack of comparable data to support both stratigraphic and typological observations was further amplified by an exceptionally complicated archaeological situation, due to the continuous human occupation of the site: the entire chronological development of the history of the region was represented at Geili, making the site one of the most interesting but also the hardest to investigate on first impact with Sudanese archaeology. Only years later did the excavation of single-component sites and the expansion of the research with regional surveys provide the necessary background for understanding the Geili case.
References
- R.Haaland and AMAnwar 19988, Atbara Research Project. The Field Seasons of 1985,1987,1989 and 1990. Nyame Akuma 35.
- AJArkell 1949: Early Khartoum. Oxford.
- AJArkell 1953 : Shaheinab. An account of the excavation of a Neolithic occupation site carried out for the Sudan Antiquities Service in 1949-50, London: Oxford University Press.
- Fr.Geus 1984 : Excavations at El Kadada and the Neolithic of the central Sudan, In: L.Krzyzaniak and
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- YMElamin : Archaeological survey in the area of Shaqadud Cave, Central Sudan, Ages 7/2.
- P. Lenoble : Tumular and ceramic documentation between 5th and 6th cataracts. An example of "oriented prospecting" aimed at providing information on the "End of Meroe" in the region of Meroe. In: Ch.Bonnet (ed.): Nubian Studies. Proceedings of the VIIth International Congress of Nubian Studies September 3-8, 1990. vol.I, Geneva.
- R. Kuper: Wadi Howar and Laquia. Recent Field Studies into the Early Settlement of Northern Sudan. In: M.Krause (ed.): Nubische Studien.
- AEMarks : Relationship between the Central Nile Valley and the Eastern Sudan in Later Prehistory. In: WVDavies(ed.): Egypt and Africa, Nubia from Prehistory to Islam, London.
- A.Mohammed Ali : The Neolithic Period in the Sudan, c.6000-2500 BC Cambridge Monographs in African Archaeology. BAR International Series 139, Oxford.
- J.Reinold : The prehistoric site of el Kadada (central Sudan) - the necropolis, 4 vols. Third cycle doctoral thesis, University of Lille III, multigraphed, vol 1: Text, vol 2: Catalog of tombs, vol. 3: Figures, vol. 4: Photographic plates and annexed reports, Khartoum ; id. , 'The Neolithic necropolis of el Kadada in central Sudan: the burials of children in vases', in Mixtures Offered to Jean Vercoutter, ADPF, Paris ; id ., 'The Neolithic necropolis of el Kadada in central Sudan: some cases of human sacrifices', in Nubische Studien, M. Krause ed, ed. von Zabern, Mainz ; id. , 'The notion of habitat in central Sudan during the Neolithic', in African archeology and natural sciences applied to archaeology, ACCT/CRIAA/CNRS, Bordeaux.
